Jerusalem at night photos.

Jerusalem at night… Even though the city is not supposed to sleep at night, I was surprised how quiet and peaceful it has become when night descended upon the town. Markets were closed, winding streets and alleyways lighten up by orange globes were almost empty. I had only seen a couple of groups of Russian pilgrims hurried to some kind of night service in Holy Sepulcher church. It makes you to forget that we are in 21st century and gives you a feeling that Jerusalem indeed is an Eternal City.

Tensions. Jerusalem photos.

There was a pouring rain during our night drive from Makhtesh Ramon (Ramon crater) to Jerusalem, and most of the way we were listening to the news about shooting of a prominent Israeli politician by a terrorist. It was real ‘fun’.

We stayed in Old Jerusalem. It was full of soldiers. At times, we had a feeling that there were more soldiers than locals, market vendors, tourists and pilgrims all together. Tension was so high, that it felt like, it is enough to strike a match, and everything will blow to pieces.

On the next day when we were on the wall, just above Damascus Gate, we witnessed how the soldiers dealt with someone (would be terrorist?)…

Eilat and Makhtesh Ramon

The Eilat was just a ‘base camp’ for visiting Petra, but we still managed to swim in Red Sea 🙂 .

Makhtesh Ramon crater was very impressive. I didn’t know anything about it (including its existence) before planning the trip. In my mind a crater is something formed by volcano or meteorite, but this particular one is a result of an erosion.

Masada and Judean Desert Israel Photos

The ruins of the Masada fortress are the second most visited tourist site in Israel. That by itself would be enough reason for me to give it a miss, but my father really wanted to go there. It was very hot and dry, and we only had a couple of hours to wander around. The views from the top were beautiful indeed.

It might be because of my scepticism regarding the events that happened there, or because I’m not a big fan of ruins in general, but I personally didn’t feel anything ‘special’. Nevertheless, I didn’t regret the visit. Whether Flavius Josephus’ account of the siege of Masada was entirely fictional or if every word in his chronicles was true, I can now visualise the place.

Dead Sea & Ein Gedi

The lowest place and the saltiest water on earth. Beautiful beaches predominantly occupied by Russian speakers (at least we had this impression : ) ).
It is painful to get into the water without reef shoes, and it is impossible to swim. Water leaves strange, glycerine like, oily feeling on skin.

Even though I don’t think mud mask has any health benefits, putting it on was fun anyway. Everything was so unusual there…
It seems like the water level is permanently going down and probably it will not be too long before this world wonder will disappear.

Nazareth.

Birthplace of Jesus was busy. I made a mistake when decided to drive to the guesthouse located in the centre of old city. It was only day three of me driving (rented car) on the opposite side of the road after long break.

The winding hilly multilevel streets were hardly wide enough for a single car, but I had to manoeuvre all the time to allow oncoming traffic to pass… It was a nightmare. In the end I got stuck on a narrow, deadened street that was 45 degrees up… and a miracle (as expected in such place 🙂 ) happened. I asked for directions, but local family didn’t let us go. They invited us in their place, shared their wonderful food and after that drove us to our hotel. It was a real lifesaver event 🙂

Tzfat (Safed) and Sea of Galilee Photos

Tzfat (Safed) – artistic and spiritual, religious and bohemian, busy on weekdays and almost totally shut down on Shabbat.

We only spent a day (and a night) there. It was Friday. When we were leaving in the late afternoon, winding labyrinth of cobbled streets was deserted and all of the myriad shops, galleries and cafes were closed.

Sea of Galilee and resort town of Tiberias met us with amazing pastel colours. Mountains across the lake were pale pink and the water was light blue and wonderfully quiet and flat. It was in striking contrast with our next stop on that day – Nazareth 🙂

We only spent a few hours in Haifa (at least 2 of them in a traffic jam) and as a result didn’t really get to see much of the place. A cave that was named after me (or is it my name that came from the guy that used to live in the cave? 🙂 ). A cable car that brings you to a monastery with another cave inside. Bahai gardens, up a scary number of stairs. A university where we talked to some colleagues of my father’s (now deceased) friend.

The old city of Akko is only an hour drive from there. It is supposed to take you back in time. Indeed, the underground museum does exactly that and is impressive. However, it is just a museum… Akko itself looks more like a tourist hub than a place where people live… Quiet early in the morning and late at night, but flooded with package tour groups during the day.

Mursi people live in one of the most remote regions of Ethiopia. It was more difficult to get there than anywhere else in our trip.

Even though Mirsi no longer live inside the Mago National Park, because at some point they were forced out of there, we were still requested to pay the park fees. It was also compulsory to have a guard (or ‘scout’ as they call him) armed with Kalashnikov all the time, of course for a fee too. You can see the guy in khaki on one of the photos. We spent a night in a Mirsi village and didn’t feel any danger at any time… It would be also interesting to know what that scout would do if men from the village would suddenly get aggressive… Each of them has Kalashnikov too 🙂

Mursi women are famous for wearing plates, made from clay or wood, that they insert in a hole pierced in their lower lips. They don’t wear them all the time… Only when they want to look particular attractive. Of course they were wearing them for us as they wanted money for photos :/ I personally find it a bit disturbing to look at such a beauty.